


Electricity Keeps On Hitting Me

by galacticsugar



Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [8]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, M/M, Power Outage, Swearing, petunia loves bsb, snowstorm in l.a.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29706984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticsugar/pseuds/galacticsugar
Summary: Luke climbs back under his covers to warm up while he assesses the situation. No heat. No internet. No indication when he will have his electricity back. Fuck. What a great Monday this is shaping up to be.***for the tumblr prompt "i bought you a ticket."
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin
Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138103
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	Electricity Keeps On Hitting Me

**Author's Note:**

> for the tumblr prompt "i bought you a ticket" from [em](https://redrattlers.tumblr.com). 💜

It’s abnormally dark when Luke wakes up. It’s not unusual for the sky to be dark – Luke wakes up a solid hour before sunrise. But where are the street lights that usually illuminate his bedside table through his blinds? It’s also really fucking cold. It’s been unseasonably cold out over the past few days, but Luke’s not shy about cranking the thermostat. Maybe he forgot to flip on the heat before he went to bed last night.

What time is it? He looks at his phone. 5:49. He flicks through his notifications, and he finally realizes why everything feels wrong. The power is out. He has a text from the energy company informing him of a blackout due to “unprecedented demands on the power grid.” What the fuck does that mean?

He tumbles out of the mess of blankets in his bed and peeks through his blinds. The street is completely dark, but the moon is still out, bright enough that he can see it – inches of fresh snow coating the ground. He flips to his weather app, which informs him the temperature is in single digits.

This just doesn’t happen in L.A. Wildfires, heat waves, earthquakes, sure. But below freezing temperatures and inches of snow? Not so much. He flicks back over to his text from the energy company and taps the link to get more information, but his browser just spins on the loading screen. That’s just great. He tries sending a text to Michael.

 **Luke:** you have power?

 **Michael:** no. fuck this. how are we supposed to get our mcr tickets?

Okay, so he’s got service but no data. Less than ideal, especially since, as Michael pointed out, they’re supposed to be trying for My Chemical Romance tickets later this morning. As if the odds weren’t already stacked against them enough just based on sheer demand, it looks like now they might not have a way to even _try_ to get tickets.

Luke climbs back under his covers to warm up while he assesses the situation. No heat. No internet. No indication when he will have his electricity back. Fuck. What a great Monday this is shaping up to be.

The last thing he wants to do is go outside, but he can only put off walking Petunia for so long. With a heavy sigh, he slides out from under his covers again and opens the door to his closet. He’s hit with a blast of freezing air, and he quickly reaches in to extract a handful of the warmest things he can find by the light of his phone. He pulls on sweatpants and a hoodie and uses his phone to light his way to the living room.

“C’mon Petunia,” he calls behind him. “I know you don’t wanna, but we have to go outside.” He hears Petunia’s collar jingle as she jumps off the bed to follow him. He bundles up as best he can in his heaviest jacket, a hat and gloves, and they venture into the dark. Luke sucks in a breath when the cold hits his skin, unaccustomed to the bitterness and the way it steals the air from his lungs. It’s actually kind of beautiful to look at, though – his entire neighborhood is covered in a fresh blanket of white snow, lit only by the soft glow of moonlight bouncing off the snowy surfaces.

Petunia leads them out to the sidewalk and Luke smiles at the sight of her little pawprints in the snow ahead of him. They walk a bit further, and Petunia sniffs determinedly at a bush in front of the neighboring house. It’s dark enough that Luke doesn’t notice the figure ahead on the sidewalk until he’s just a few feet away.

“Crazy day, huh?”

Luke whips his head up, startled by the voice in the otherwise quiet early morning air. It’s a man bundled a bit more practically than Luke is, with an actual winter coat and scarf and boots. All the layers mostly obscure the guy’s face, but he sounds friendly, and apparently is better at finding humor in less-than-desirable circumstances than Luke is.

“Yeah,” Luke mumbles back.

“I’m Ashton,” the guy says. “New neighbor? Moved in last month.” Ah. Luke is familiar with the new neighbor. Hot Neighbor, as he has oh-so-creatively dubbed him in his mind. While this is their first official meeting, Luke definitely noticed Hot Neighbor moving in several weeks prior. Sweat was dripping down his face and neck, soaking through his flimsy T-shirt, as he unloaded boxes from a U-Haul trailer, biceps straining, and Luke hasn’t stopped noticing him since.

He’s watched Hot Neighbor gardening on a few occasions, which is fun because Hot Neighbor often gardens shirtless, even when it’s 50 degrees outside. Luke supposes it’s because of the sweat issue. He’s also watched Hot Neighbor unload groceries from his car, do yoga in his backyard, wash his car, and mow the lawn. He does most of those activities shirtless as well. Luke might feel bad about watching Hot Neighbor through the curtains, but honestly, how could he not? It’s basically porn.

“Yeah, um—” Luke’s words are creaky and heavy with sleep. He clears his throat. “I’ve seen you around. I’m Luke, and this is Petunia. I’d say welcome to the neighborhood, but…well.” He gestures at the snow and darkness surrounding them.

Hot Neighbor grins, and his hat droops over his eyes with the movement. “Nice to meet you, Luke!” Hot Neighbor – Ashton – is far too chipper given the circumstances. “I saw you out here with Petunia and figured I’d check and see if you’d heard the news.”

“I know we don’t have power, obviously. Is there more?” Luke asks, cringing in anticipation of the answer.

“They’re saying it might be days before we get it back.”

“Days? Plural?” Luke leans in, making sure he didn’t mishear Ashton over the swirl of the wind.

“Yeah,” Ashton says apologetically, shoulders shrugging around his ears. “Probably going to get pretty cold. This weather is supposed to last at least a week.”

“Shit.” Luke bounces on the balls of his feet to stay warm. The wind is starting to seep through his jacket, and his sneakers are soaking up snow like a sponge. “What does that mean?” It’s a rhetorical question; Luke’s trying to think through the implications of a situation he has never been in nor expected to be in.

Ashton answers it anyway. “Well, your house is going to get really cold, like I said. Need to be careful about the pipes bursting. Lots of stores and restaurants are closed because they don’t have power, and roads are terrible, so getting food might be kind of a pain for the next few days. And I guess you can’t really cook, unless you have a gas stove.”

Luke stares at Ashton with his jaw dropped, completely unprepared for the amount of terrible news he was just given. Anxiety is bubbling under his skin and he takes a few deep breaths to try to calm himself. They don’t feel _right_ with the heavy, cold air. “I’m going to die,” he says plainly. “Petunia is going to die, and it will be my fault.”

Hot Neighbor – shit, Ashton – has the gall to _giggle_ at Luke’s distress. And maybe it’s kind of a cute laugh, but Luke’s too distraught to appreciate it. He gives Ashton a dirty look and Ashton looks appropriately guilty. “Don’t worry, Luke. I’ll make sure you and Petunia don’t die. You have a fireplace? Gas stove?”

“No and no,” Luke says, wondering why Past Luke was _so convinced_ he could never possibly need a fireplace in the L.A. climate. Past Luke was an idiot. A complete moron.

“Oh. That complicates things a little.” Ashton fusses with his hat, tugging it lower on his ears, then pushing it higher on his forehead. He seems to be wrestling with something, but Luke is cold and anxious, and he’s getting impatient to get back inside and try to figure out how he’s going to survive.

“I guess I should –” Luke gestures back toward his house and starts to spin on his heel.

“Wait.” Ashton’s voice stops Luke mid-spin. The heel of his sneaker slides out from under him on the slick ground, and he starts to topple over sideways. Suddenly Ashton’s hand is under his elbow, steadying him before he faceplants into the snow next to the bush Petunia just peed on.

“Holy shit,” Luke gasps, body flashing warm from adrenaline. “Thank you. I nearly cracked my face open.”

“We can’t have that,” Ashton says, eyeing Luke intensely as he slowly extracts his hand from underneath Luke’s elbow. “Before you almost smashed my lemonade berry shrub, I was going to say…I have a fireplace, and a gas stove. And I’m stocked on food and water. You’re welcome to come and stay for a bit if you need to. Petunia, too, obviously.” He nods at Petunia, now snuffling around Ashton’s feet curiously.

It’s a generous offer. Luke’s mind whirs, trying to weigh the pros and cons. On one hand, Hot Neighbor is asking Luke over to his house, a scenario which Luke has imagined _many_ times, and in his imagination, Luke’s not just getting a cup of sugar from him.

On the other hand, Hot Neighbor – fuck, Ashton – is still basically a stranger, and Luke’s social skills aren’t exactly built to withstand awkward interactions with people he barely knows.

“Oh, thank you. I, er – I guess we’ll see how it goes? Might come by if things get dire.” Luke smiles broadly to try to offset the potential rudeness he didn’t realize might come across in his words until they were already out.

Ashton’s face drops slightly “Cool. Well. Just swing by if you need anything,” Ashton says, smile now recovered but voice hollow.

“I’m trying to get concert tickets!” Luke doesn’t know why he says it; probably a last-ditch attempt to salvage the situation enough that Ashton doesn’t think Luke hates him and would rather freeze to death than spend time with him.

Ashton looks at him, mystified, but with a gleam in his eye that hadn’t been there a second ago. “It’s just, My Chemical Romance tickets go on sale this morning?” Luke says. “And my friend Mike and I are trying to get tickets, and it’s going to be really hard, and…I just need to catch up with him. Figure out what our plan is for trying to get tickets now.”

“I love My Chemical Romance,” Ashton says, throwing his hand over his heart for emphasis. Luke files that away, a new fun fact for the Hot Neighbor folder in his brain. “Does your friend have power?”

“Nope.” Luke lets his dejected tone speak for itself.

“Shit. Sorry.” Luke shrugs. “Maybe you’ll be able to figure something out,” Ashton says, looking almost as helpless as Luke feels.

“Yeah, maybe.” Luke smiles at Ashton, a full-on smile to try to make up for being such an antisocial bummer, but it makes his teeth so cold he can only hold it for a couple seconds before he has to close his mouth. “It was nice officially meeting you, Ashton.”

“You too.” Ashton seems distracted, lost in thought for a moment, but he quickly recovers. “And seriously, come by if you need anything at all, or if you just need to warm up by the fire.”

“Thanks, I will.” Luke nods appreciatively and scurries back towards his house, eager to get out of the cold. For once in her life, Petunia seems equally enthusiastic about getting back inside, and she clips at Luke’s heels eagerly.

***

Much to Luke’s dismay, going inside isn’t the relief he was hoping for. It’s almost as cold in his house as it was outside. “At least it’s not windy,” he grumbles, toeing off his soaked-through shoes by the door. He screeches as he hightails it across the freezing cold laminate flooring to his room to get a pair of warm, dry socks.

Poor Petunia is shivering by his feet as he rifles through his sock drawer, so Luke digs out an old T-Shirt for her to wear. He’ll never make fun of people who buy sweaters for their dogs ever again. Once he and Petunia are both appropriately bundled, he gathers all the blankets he can find and piles them on his couch, then slides under the pile as gracefully as he can. Petunia nudges into his side, curling up in a ball in the blanket nest.

Okay. So now he’s sitting in the dark, shivering under a giant pile of blankets, with literally nothing to do. He calls Michael and they spend a few minutes trying to hash out a potential plan for MCR tickets, but neither of them comes up with any viable ideas. So much for seeing _The Black Parade_ live.

Luke tries reading, his eyes straining in the dim light of the early morning. It’s too cold for his hands to grasp the book, _and_ he’s getting a headache, so he gives up and throws the book across the room. He jams his hands under his blankets and closes his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

Maybe he sleeps a little bit, a few minutes here and there, but it’s still so fucking cold, he keeps waking up shivering. This is torture. He’s bored out of his mind and he’s freezing, and there’s no end in sight. He looks at the clock. It’s not even noon yet. Fuuuuuuuck. To add insult to injury, MCR tickets went on sale at 10. They’re certainly sold out by now.

“Hey Petunia,” Luke calls, smiling when Petunia’s head pops up from her own blanket nest. “Wanna bother Hot Neighbor?” She cocks her head to the side, and her mouth opens into a smile. Luke takes that as a ringing endorsement.

**

Ashton opens his door with a grin, and now that there’s daylight, and Ashton isn’t covered in layers of outerwear, Luke can see his fucking dimples and his fucking otherworldly hazel eyes, both features Luke hadn’t been able to make out clearly while he was perving on Ashton from his kitchen window. He’s wearing sweatpants and a hoodie and these absurd bright purple slippers designed to look like cowboy boots, and maybe Luke is in love. A problem for another time.

“It’s really cold,” Luke says in lieu of a greeting. He often gets called out for being dramatic, but in this case his teeth really are chattering against his will, and Ashton’s eyes fill with concern.

“Come warm up.” Ashton opens his door wide and gestures for Luke and Petunia to come in. Luke takes off his shoes but doesn’t bother to shed his coat. He can feel the heat from the fireplace before he sees it, and he blindly follows it down a hall and around a corner, tugging Petunia behind him. It’s probably rude to just let himself in like this, wandering a stranger’s house freely, but he’s too cold to care.

“Sit down by the fire,” Ashton calls from behind him. “There are tons of blankets on the sofa. I’ll get you some hot chocolate.”

Luke’s ears perk up at the promise of a hot drink, and he eagerly plops on the sofa in front of the fireplace, wrapping two clashing patterned fleece blankets around his shoulders. Petunia settles herself on the floor about an inch away from the fireplace, basking in the warmth with a series of pleased grunts. Luke smiles to himself, feeling his shoulders relaxing just knowing Petunia is comfortable again.

He sits quietly, burrowing his chin into his blankets and letting the warm air in Ashton’s living room slowly defrost him. Ashton’s house has windows and skylights, and even with the gloom outside, it’s a million times brighter than Luke’s house. Ashton bustles around the kitchen, putting on the kettle and opening and closing drawers. “You want marshmallows?” he calls.

What kind of magical fantasyland is Hot Neighbor’s house, honestly? Luke pokes his head out from his blankets. “Do _I_ want marshmallows?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ashton digs a bag of mini marshmallows out of the pantry and Luke watches as he dumps approximately half the bag into one mug, then counts out five marshmallows to place into the other. He picks up the mugs and comes over to the sofa, holding out the mug overflowing with marshmallows to Luke.

“Thank you!” Luke takes the mug eagerly and cradles it to his chest, savoring the warmth on his hands. Most of him has already warmed up after just a few minutes in front of the fire, but his hands are still ice cold.

“No problem. You earned it after spending all morning freezing your ass off.” Ashton sits down next to Luke, setting his mug on the coffee table so he can rearrange the remaining blankets into a cocoon.

Luke scoffs. “I don’t know about that. Kind of my own fault. I was _severely_ unprepared for this situation. I didn’t even know it was supposed to snow.”

“When almost every day is sunny and 70 degrees it’s easy not to bother with checking the weather,” Ashton reasons, watching Luke happily licking up marshmallows one at a time with his tongue.

“I guess,” Luke replies, swallowing quickly so Ashton doesn’t catch a glimpse of partially chewed marshmallow goo in his mouth while he talks. “Still, though. We’d be in big trouble if we hadn’t run into you.”

“I’m glad you decided to come by,” Ashton says. “I’ve been meaning to come over and introduce myself properly.”

Luke laughs. “And now you’re going to get to see more of me than you could ever want.”

“Planning on moving in?” Ashton teases, jostling them a bit as he reaches to grab his own mug off the coffee table.

Luke blushes, burying his head back into his blankets. “I just mean that I can be pretty annoying. You’ll probably be sick of me before we even finish our hot chocolate.”

“Doubt that, mate.” Luke catches a quick flash of Ashton’s mischievous smile, and then before Luke realizes what’s happening, Ashton gulps down his entire mug of hot chocolate in one go and sets it down hard on the table, letting out a dramatic and satisfied “ahhhhh!” after he swallows.

“What the fuck?” Luke asks, genuinely delighted. He can’t quite figure Ashton out, but he is really having a good time trying.

“Finished my hot chocolate and I’m not sick of you yet,” Ashton says simply, a proud grin on his face. Luke’s chest fills with butterflies and maybe he’s reading this wrong – he barely knows Ashton, after all – but that’s not going to stop him from losing his mind over it, silently, while Ashton watches him drink is own hot chocolate.

“I hope it lasts, then,” Luke says.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Ashton says. “So, Petunia’s into the Backstreet Boys, then?” He cuts his eyes at Petunia, sprawled out on her side next to the fire.

The old T-shirt Luke had put on her is one of his prized thrift store finds – a Backstreet Boys Into the Millennium tour shirt, white and yet somehow completely free of armpit stains. Unfortunately, his shoulders outgrew the shirt about three years ago, but he can’t bring himself to get rid of it. His loss, Petunia’s gain.

“Yeah, she’s a big fan.” Luke pauses to finish his drink, then smirks at Ashton. “Don’t tell me you’re an *NSYNC kind of guy. Petunia might force us to leave, and I’m just starting to thaw out.”

“Obviously I’m not an *NSYNC kind of guy.” Ashton says, indignant. “I have taste!” There’s some awkward movement under his blankets, like he’s attempting to gesticulate wildly but has forgotten he’s trapped in the confines of a blanket prison.

Luke hides his smile behind his own blankets. “That’s a relief. I’m really enjoying your fireplace.”

“Just my fireplace?”

Luke raises his eyebrows and Ashton gives him a dirty look, then returns his gaze to Petunia. “How’s she feel about My Chemical Romance?”

Luke’s face drops at the reminder of The Great MCR Ticket Debacle of 2021. He sighs. “She loves them,” he says glumly.

“So here’s the thing.” Ashton looks away nervously, and Luke is worried that something is terribly wrong. He just has no idea what it could possibly be, seeing as he’s only known Ashton for half an hour, and all they’ve done is have a friendly chat and drink hot chocolate.

“I got a ticket to My Chemical Romance.”

Oh. That’s not a big deal really. But also… ”How?” Luke asks, rubbing his hands together to try to maintain the warmth from his mug.

“My friend Calum still has power. Had him get me a ticket.” Ashton’s talking fast, and fidgeting. He’s buzzing like he had a dozen cups of espresso this morning, which, maybe he did. Luke doesn’t know his life.

“Oh, cool.” Luke tries to disguise his disappointment, because he _is_ happy for Ashton getting a ticket. He’s just also extremely jealous.

There’s a pause, and then Ashton looks at him, pursing his lips apprehensively. “I got you a ticket.”

“You…what?” Luke can’t react yet; he must be misunderstanding. There’s no way in hell he heard right that Hot Neighbor got him a ticket to My Chemical Romance. That’s just not the sort of thing that happens to Luke.

“I got you a ticket,” Ashton repeats, bolder this time. “I was hoping maybe you’d let me take you.” He smiles, tilting his head to the side. “As a date.”

“Hot Neighbor wants to take me to My Chemical Romance?” Luke says, too thrilled to be subtle. “Of-fucking-course I’ll go with you!”

“Hot Neighbor?” Ashton smirks, leaning in closer to Luke.

“I know it’s not very creative, but it gets the point across.” Luke pulls the blankets over his shoulders tightly across his chest and closes the gap between he and Ashton, letting their sides meld together. There are still half a dozen blankets between their bodies, but Luke swears he can feel Ashton’s warmth through them.

“I must not be very creative, because I’ve been calling you Hot Neighbor too,” Ashton says.

“Seriously?”

Wonders never cease. Luke’s going to fucking My Chemical Romance with Hot Neighbor, who thinks _he’s_ a hot neighbor. Monday’s not looking so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr [@staticsounds](https://staticsounds.tumblr.com); come say hi!


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